Practice 1
Task 2: Simulated situational conversation.
(A: Mr.Brook, B: Salesclerk)
A: Good morning. Yesterday I got a call from your company, asking me to come today to check and fetch the computer I ordered the other day.
B: Good morning. May I have your name, please?
A: Vincent Brook.
B: Oh, yes. Mr.Brook. This way, please.
…
B: Here we are. This is the computer you ordered. It has been tested for 24 hours and it works very well. And now, you may have a look yourself. Take your time.
A: Thanks. It looks good to me. However, no one can guarantee everything. What if there should occur some mechanical problems?
B: If it doesn't work properly within two months, you may bring it back for a refund. We guarantee it for two years. If there is any repair work needed within this time, our service department will see to it free of charge. After the expiration of the guarantee, we charge for the parts only.
A: It sounds reasonable. I think I am quite satisfied. By the way, could you have it delivered? I find the computer a little heavy.
B: Yes, of course. All goods purchased here can be delivered free.
A: That's great. Where should I pay, please?
B: The cashier counter is over there. After you pay, please come back here with the receipt and I'll get your warranty certificate ready.
A: OK.
Practice 2
Task 2: Simulated situational conversation.
(A: Ellen Smith, B: Richard Parker)
A: Good afternoon. Mr.Parker. This is Ellen Smith. Clare told me your order did not arrive on time. We're very sorry for the inconvenience.
B: I appreciate your apology, but because we did not cancel the order I believe I'm within my rights to ask for some sort of compensation. But Clare seems to ignore my request and hold us responsible for the delay. I don't think that's professional!
A: I'm sorry for that. Clare is new here and obviously she needs more training in this aspect. Now please let me look over your file one more time. Do you mind holding for a while?
B: No, that's fine.
A: Mr.Parker, I believe I know what the problem is. It seems one of our staff confused your order with another client's canceled order. We deeply regret this error and I will have your carpet shipped out to you today by express mail at no added charge to you. You should receive your order within 24 hours.
B: Well, thank you. I appreciate your prompt service.
A: Also in accordance with our compensation policy, we will only charge you for 90% of the original order. I hope these measures are satisfactory.
B: Yes, absolutely. Thank you very much, Mrs.Smiths. You've been very helpful.
A: You're very welcome, and I hope you'll continue working with Eilisha Carpet.
B: We definitely will. Thank you again.
A: Not at all. Goodbye, Mr.Parker.
B: Goodbye.
Practice 3
Task 2: Simulated situational conversation.
(A: Collin Carter,B: Ms.Bush)
A: Good morning, Ms.Bush. I am Collin Carter from the EcoAir Company. We're doing a regular customer service follow-up survey and hope you can answer some questions for me.
B: Sure.
A: According to our record here, you bought a batch of air conditioners from our company in October. Did they arrive on time?
B: Yes, and your technicians came shortly after and were very professional with the installation.
A: Good. Is this batch of AC going on well?
B: Yes. It has been a year, and I find them stable and reliable.
A: Did anything go wrong in this year?
B: Yes, but it was solved quickly after consulting your technicians.
A: Good. Ms.Bush, would you mind filling in the investigation form for me?
B: No. I am glad to do so.
A: Thank you. Can you sign your name here? Our company needs it for confirmation.
B: No problem. Your company takes a serious attitude towards your aftersales service.
A: Surely, we must. Therefore we can keep improving.
Part Ⅲ Workplace Practice
Ⅰ. Complete the following dialogue.
Dialogue A:
A: Can I help you?
B: Yes. I bought a camera in your store and used it for some time, but now the camera doesn't work properly. It's not focusing at all! I would like you to give me a replacement!
A: Let me have a look. En, yes, it can't work well! It's a production problem, indeed!
B: In fact, I used it carefully and took care of it properly by the instruction book.
A: Eh, it gets a good protection. Can you give me the receipt?
B: Here it is!
A: Oh, I am sorry! It has passed the warranty period. We can't replace it for you!
B: Yes, it's my fault! But you can look for the record of my expenditure in your computer! As a matter of fact, I'm the member of your store! As a regular customer, can I get an extra privilege?
A: Please wait a second! Yes, and you have a good credit expenditure in our store! So, we can give you a privilege that we will give a replacement for you!
Customer: Thanks for your good service and extra help!
A: It's my pleasure!
Dialogue B:
A: Hello, City Water Works, how may I help you today?
B: I'm calling concerning my water bill. I think I've been overcharged for the past month.
A: I'm sorry to hear that. Why do you think we charged you too much?
B: The bill is 20 tons of water more than last month.
A: I'm sorry to hear that. Let me ask you a few questions and then I'll see what I can do.
B: OK, thank you for your help.
A: Of course, thank you for calling this to our attention. Now, how much do you usually pay for your water usage?
B: I usually pay about $20 a month.
A: Thank you, and how much did we charge on this bill?
B: $120. I can't understand why.
A: Yes, Mr.Wilson. Was your usage different in any way?
B: Come on, it was just an average month. We are not talking about one ton more. It's TWENTY!
A: I'm sorry there certainly seems to be a mistake.
B: Well, I'm happy you agree with me.
A: I'll send a technician to check your meter. What's your address, Mr.Wilson?
B: 125 ST Kilda Road, Melbourne, Vic 3004.
A: And what's your phone number?
B: 9815-0209.
A: I'm sorry about any inconvenience it has caused. We'll do our best to make things right.
B: Thank you for your help in clearing this up.
Ⅱ. Translate the following dialogue into English.
A: Excuse me, sir. May I have a word with the person in charge of the service center?
B: I'm the very person you would like to talk to. Anything I can do for you？
A: Yes, about six months ago, our firm bought 100 sets of machine tools from your sales department. They worked perfectly well until one week ago. We hadn't had any complaints about them but recently they are not performing properly. I wonder whether you can have them repaired.
B: Of course. I'll send several technicians to your factory to solve the problem.
A: Thank you. Then how about the repair fee?
B: That will be on your account, as your machines are already beyond our period of guarantee,three months. But the charge could be preferential to you.
A: Okay, when can your technicians come over?
B: They are working in another factory to provide maintenance right now. Let me call them and see whether they have solved the problem. Please wait a moment. (After a while) Hello, I've just contacted our technicians. They say they can go to your factory tomorrow morning at about 8:30. Is it convenient for you?
A: That's wonderful. I appreciate your efficiency and cooperation.
B: To provide customers with excellent aftersales service is our promise. You may go back and wait for our maintenance staff in your factory tomorrow morning. They will be there on time.
A: Thanks again.
B: You're welcome. If you have further questions, you can contact us by phone at 400-8787 and save yourself a journey.
A: Oh, I see. Thanks.
Ⅲ. Make a short speech (3 minutes).
1. The importance of providing good aftersales service;
2. Suggestions on how to provide good aftersales service and keep customers happy.
Good morning, everyone. It's my pleasure to be here to speak to you. Today I will focus on how to provide good aftersales service. Aftersales service is important because it helps to ensure that customers are satisfied with their purchases and in case of any difficulty installing or setting up equipment, they can receive help. A happy customer will be loyal and will advertise your company for the great service they receive thus keeping your company making sales. Here I would like to offer some suggestions on providing good aftersales service.
The first suggestion is your returns policy and your contact details should be easy to find and simple to understand. If you are going to offer any aftersales service care, then it is vitally important that this is easy to find and reach because otherwise you will find yourself simply annoying customers further whilst they try to get in touch.
Customer care is a vitally important element of business, so the second one is that you need to make sure your staff can offer the appropriate level of service. By training your staff properly to be able to deal with conflict resolution, you will reduce the problems that you face with customers and find it easier to resolve problems.
The third suggestion is to provide good returns policy. Returns are expensive for companies because the product can then rarely be resold and is often counted as waste. Offering a good returns policy, however, is a step that will make you more reputable as a company. Many large companies offer 14 day return policies and you will be compared to this. Remember that retaining customers is more valuable than the return of a single product, so offering this service is a good thing to do for business development.
My last suggestion is to make up for mistakes in a prompt manner. In any business there will inevitably be mistakes and it is vitally important that you make up for these however possible. Even if the mistakes are not because of failures in your business, leaving a customer dissatisfied is not an option because this will lead to a bad reputation. Making up for mistakes is an important step in managing business relations and offering discounts on future purchases is a good way to do this. As well as placating the customer, this will then encourage them to buy from you again. This in turn enables you to utilize another chance to satisfy them and ensure that they get the service you intend to give.
In conclusion, no matter what the nature of your business, if you fail to keep your customers happy you will not be in business very long. Keeping customers happy over the long run requires a great deal of time and dedication, but the rewards can be quite substantial. Making the initial sale is only the starting point. In order to be successful, your firm must serve the customer's needs after the sale as well. That's all for my speech. Thank you.
Ⅳ. Make a workplace interpretation (3 minutes).
A: 我最近我听到不少顾客对我们工作的抱怨，甚至有一些是从我们最忠实的顾客那里传来的。李贺，你是怎么看的？
B: We've had a lot of problems with certain items from a new manufacturer. We've handled it according to the store policy of giving a refund or an exchange. Feedback from our staff indicates some customers think our quality control is lax.
A: 从顾客的立场来想，他们是没有错的。当然这也不是我们的错。问题是，接下来我们做了什么了吗？ 是否有什么跟进措施？
B: We've contacted Purchasing, and they're dealing with the manufacturer right now.
A: 那还不够！既然我们已经听到那么多的不满，我们就必须立即把那些商品撤出货架， 直到供应商确保其产品合格才能上架。
B: All right. I'll talk to the department manager about it. Shouldn't be a problem, but it'll probably take them a day or two to restock the empty space.
A: 那没问题。企业能否长期处于不败之地，很大程度上取决于他们是否已培养起一个稳定而可信赖的客户群，要做到这一点的最佳方法就是正确对待客户。
B: Yes. We will do everything we can to retain our customers.
A: 对的，我们必须积极主动地与购买了那些不合格商品的顾客取得联系，并寄一张下次购物使用的优惠券。
B: I'll get on it right away.
A: 好的。谢谢你。